St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-10-29
RIGHT MUST PREVAIL.
The Government Determined to
Stand by Its Action in the North
ern Pacific indemnify Lands.

The Government Determined to
Stand by Its Action in the North
ern Pacific Indemnity Lands.
Special to the Globe
WASHINGTON, Oct est is under
stood by the general land office that all
of the Northern Pacific indemnity
land cases will be contested by the cor
poratiOn, and that threats have been
made and widely circulated so as to
cause fear or tiInidity in the minds of
those who have intended or do intend to
make settlements. Applications will be
made to the courts for injunctions re-
Strainlng settlers from filing claims upon
these lands. Counsel Mcknight has
been quoted here as havingoSaid:
After the practical acceptance of the order
OF Commissioner Drummond in 1871. ruling
that there was a second indemnity belt;
after the practical acceptance of this ruling,
it cannot be brought into question and
thousands of settlers who have purchased
lands Of the road will be protected by the
company in the courts to the full extent Of
its power.
That statement, if it really emanated
from the learned counsel, was calcu-
lated to mislead and threaten. ItwOuld
be called dureSS in court, and will Seri-
OuSly injure any case which might now
W OAOdSie idtO SOQle lAC CIlO VI
obstruction in view. While the North
ern Pacific is protecting its misguided
purchasers in the courts Ito the full ex-
tent of its power" it might be we'll to
invite the attention of settlers to the
fact that the government intends to pro-
tect its right and interest in those lands
ito the full extent of its power" If the
Northern Pacific intends to measure
power for power with the general gov
eminent, which is thoroughly in ear
nest, it does not take prophet not the
son of a prophet te fOretell the result.
When this contest is undertaken it will
be see that the corporation had its mill
ions, but the general government has it's
hundreds of millions, and might will
prevail, because
OEXERCISED ON THE SIDE OF RIGHT.
The road complains that ''under Sec
rotary Lamar'S rulings the titles to
these lands are called into question:"
Nothing of the kind is considered at the
department. The commissioner of the
general land Office does not consider the
titles as being questionable, but as
settled once for all. The reference to
the ruling of Commissioner Drummond
in 1871, and the fact that the lands were
not distributed under that order, is re-
garded as the strong point of the cor
pOratiOn. But it is a we'll settled prin-
ciple of practice and of law that the Sec
rotary of the interior may override a
decision of the commissioner of the
general land office at any time. The
title of the corporation to the lands
which they claim was never before
passed upon by the secretary of the
interior. His decision is final. The
road has never had any more right or
title to the lands in question than would
have been vested in the Canadian
Pacific, or ana other road, which might
have claimed" and advertised its
"claim'' to the lands. The gov
eminent was apathetic, Indifferent, for
many yearS,and made no decision in the
matter. There seemed to be an unlim-
tied public domain. But, through vari-
Gus agencies, the lands have been taken,
honestly and dishonesty, until there is
general clamOr of the people for more
land. There it Is, and the secretary has
thrown it open for the honest settlers.
They will be defended in their entries
by the government to the full extent of
its power. There may have been negli-
gence, careleSSneSS, or even criminal
connivance with corporation hereto
fore; no one can tell. The fact remains
that the lands in question were never
given to the people, and never given to
the road; never decided to belong to
any but the general government, until
the recent decision of Secretary Lamar
was promulgated. That settles the mat
ter, and no amount of litigation can pro-
duce any result other than hardship and
annoyance to the home-SeekerS who set
tie upon the prairieS thus offered to
them by the general government.